Today, I’m linking up with Kate Says Stuff‘s Thankful Thursday, The How To Mommy‘s Tasty Thursdays, Obviously Marvelous‘ Thirsty Thursdays and Saved By Love Creations‘ Thrifty Thursday.

In the spirit of Thankful Thursdays, I am so very thankful to be here in Los Angeles. I’m thankful that all five of us are healthy, I’m thankful for my husband’s job and that they moved us here and not somewhere boring haha. Waking up to my husband saying ‘wanna go check out Hollywood?’ or our new friends saying ‘lets go peek at some sea urchins’ or our other new friends inviting us to cook in their Pottery Barn/Crate and Barrel-esque kitchen is pretty amazing, I’m not gonna lie. Also, when a bad day means we go swimming at the outdoor pool in our little apartment community instead of hitting the beach, there’s a lot to be thankful for.

Sometimes, I take on what looks like a simple vegan recipe and I’m trapped in my kitchen all day (not that I mind being trapped in there, really), and sometimes I roll up my sleeves to get into a new recipe and BAM, I’m done. This is one of those quickies I treasure (ha). The other amazing thing about this recipe, aside from how GOOD it is, is how inexpensive it is! I had all of these ingredients in my kitchen already! You likely do too, the only slight oddball in there is the flax, but even that is way more common that it used to be.

It’s equally good for breakfast as it is for dessert – chocolate chips and all!

Vegan Chocolate Oatmeal Tart – via Oh, Ladycakes

1 cup banana puree
1/2 cup flax meal
1/4 cup shredded coconut
1/4 cup almond milk
2 cups rolled oats
1/4 cup mini chocolate chips

Mash up and measure your bananas, then mix the flax, coconut and almond milk.
This is where I cheated and used about 1/4 cup of brown sugar. Now add the banana puree, then the oats and the chocolate chips. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes and that’s that. It takes all of 5 minutes to pull together!

Isn’t that a cute name? Double Chocolate / Single Chin?! I recently made these for a friend that isn’t big on brownies and he loved them.

So I know that I posted a Peas and Thank You treat yesterday and refused to give you the recipe, and I’m doing it again. BUT I also posted those raw brownie bites! The more recipes I make from this book, the more I push it because it honestly is that good. I will make a list next year of all the recipes from this book that have become staples – because there are already a few that I turn to on the regular (Crack Wraps and Tofu Nuggets are made alarmingly often).

Please excuse the pie plate doubling as a brownie pan. I didn’t have one in this apartment when until a few hours later. That’s what happens when you don’t bring your entire kitchen with you when you move. Anyhoo…they are no more effort than any other standard brownie. The difference is, natch, these are way better for you AND they’re denser. I love me some dense brownies.

These cookies don’t mess around. They’re a pretty quick fix when you’re craving a cookie, but they’re impossibly soft and chewy too so you actually put an end to that craving! It helps ease my conscious that they’re vegan of course but also that instead of just being dairy free, they’ve got a dose of the good stuff. You know? It not like there is a zucchini hidden in these babies but there is nutrition in there, so instead of cookies that are not bad for you, these actually qualify as good for you. Hooray!

Again, I will NOT post the recipe because I want to encourage you to buy the book – right here!

Today I’m linking up with Organizing Junkie, Life as a Lofthouse, KDBuggie Boutique

Moving over 2200 miles and not bringing everything with us put a few kinks in our kitchen at first. Hello no fridge for a few days and only a small fraction of my kitchen gear. Today marks two weeks in our new place and I am happy to report that I spent this weekend running errands and baking up a storm – I am even happier to report that I can even get back into Menu Mondays because I can finally reliably plan what I’m cooking at night. Although to be honest, there are more rando ‘wanna go out for dinner’ nights because there are just so many rad places to go! This, however, is what I’m planning on for now…I’m including desserts this week because I almost always plan and make those too!

This Week’s Menu (April 23 – 29)

Sunday – Homemade Pizza and Calzones and Peas and Thank You’s Peanut Butter Blondies for dessert

These treats are Wednesday’s dessert this week and so simple I don’t even want to call this a recipe! You just make your favorite brownies and once they’re cool, cut out cute shapes with cookie cutters and ‘glue’ them to pretzel sticks with melted chocolate. Adorable, right?! If you’re super lazy really pressed for time, you can even use a brownie mix. Yes, I’m judging you (that can’t be a huge surprise).

I’m almost positive I’ve posted this recipe for brownies before but I’ll post it again because I know it by heart and it’s such a great brownie recipe you should know it by heart too and I swear it only takes like maybe two whole minutes longer than a mix. True story. It’s easy for a weekday dessert for the kids too!

Preheat your oven to 350, and melt the butter in a saucepan over medium heat. Once it’s melted, remove from heat and stir in the sugar till it’s melted and the eggs until they’re combined. Then add the vanilla.
In a smaller bowl, sift the flour, cocoa, baking powder and salt. Then dump that into the pot with the melted butter mixture.
Stir, stir, stir!!
Pour the batter in a greased brownie pan and bake for about 25 minutes. Then attack with your cookie cutters.
Now melt some chocolate chips and dip the pretzel sticks in the melted chocolate and then poke inot each brownie shape. Voila!

I know I’m not going to get any sympathy for this but man it’s hard to stay on a productive routine down here. The weather is so lovely and if it isn’t the beach calling my name it’s the pool – or it’s the kids wanting to check out one of the eleventy billion neat things there are to check out here. We also do at least four hours of homeschooling every weekday morning so that takes a serious bite out of the day as well. We have managed to force a routine on ourselves this week though. After my husband leaves for work (at what feels like the crack of dawn), I down water and a pot of coffee, wake the kids, feed them and do school until about noon. If we have an adventure planned, away we go. If we don’t, we’re off to the pool. Then we’re back in time for me to do some cleaning, make dinner, usually with the assistance of my lovely 6 year old sous chef and it’s ready when my husband gets home from work. Tidy, baths, stories, get the two little kids off to bed and theeeeeen I have time to crack open my laptop get a blog post out and then chat with my honey while I knit or bake or whatever. Phew. It’s a full life, but it’s hella good. <3 There is a Whole Foods and a Trader Joes in the same plaza just a few minutes from us! Imagine my glee – go ahead, imagine it! Considering that less than a month ago we were living in the woods and the closest Whole Foods to me was at least two hours away and that we are sorely deprived of Trader Joes in Canada, this is big, big news. I like to go at night after my husband gets home so I can actually hunt down the vegan cream cheese without three kids begging for organic gummy bears (the new fave treat around here). I have been cooking and baking my way through Peas and Thank You still and OMG what a great cookbook! Lots of updates on that next week!

I’m still adding recipes to the site without blog posts so I have a nice record of everything I’ve made! Here is what I’ve added lately!

	I have a pretty serious problem with these candied pecans. I mean, I don’t want to admit this but in the interest of full disclosure, I ate all of them. Not in one sitting mind you, but I ate every single pecan. They really are that good. Of course they are though, right? It’s not like I’m going to post a loser recipe on my blog. One other side note about these little babies is they’re vegan! Hooray! (read).
	They really are so so good. White chocolate and macadamia nuts are a perfect pairing! We included this in last year’s cookie tin and everyone loved them. (read).
	Polymer clay is so fun to make little trinkets and buttons and pendants with. It’s essentially play-doh you bake to set it and keep it forever. Since it sets up really hard you can make buttons and actually use them in garments! Or you can make little beads and string them on thin elastic for bracelets or necklaces. Kids especially love making them and grow ups with a soft spot for that specific child will love receiving (and wearing) them. So cute. (read).
	Just cut the apple into thin slices, carve out the core of each slice (if you have an apple corer, just pop the whole thing out first) and fill the middle with peanut butter, cranberries and chocolate chips. Then sprinkle with cinnamon. You can fill it with whatever you want. The point is to keep it healthy and keep it small (read).
	These cookies are so painfully simple, they’re easy and fun to make with kids and you can roll them in any kind of baking candies to match whatever occasion you like. (read).
	I knitted this blanket for our cousin Jenn and her new husband Adam. They’re mega, super rad. It was a pretty easy knit once I got going on it, the bulk of it was a bit much in warmer months, but totally worth it. (read).
	I made these when I wanted to serve up something cute and simple, but that was a little more ‘adult’ than typical apps I make for the kids after school. (read).
	This snack is especially handy when people show up unexpected for movie night, or when you’re poking around the kitchen in the middle of the night when you should be in bed. (read).

Happy Orthodox Easter!!!

This parade of frosted Easter love is especially dear to me because I used my Granny’s vintage cookie cutters to make them! It’s always a little sweet but sad to bake with her kitchen gear – she’s the only person who spent as much time in her kitchen as I do!

Today will be spent exploring a beach we haven’t checked out yet and general family fun on the wholesome end of the spectrum because today we spent the day in Hollywood and while we met Spiderman and the Green Lantern and Wee One #3 got a hug from Diego, we also saw a whole lotta Hollywood, you know? Yoda totally tried to cop a feel! I mean, hello!

Anyhoo, back to Easter. Usually we spent Orthodox Easter with my extended family (all Greeks have seriously huge extended families) however we will be sending long distance love to them this year and celebrating this one out here.

Moving to California update to come tomorrow!

I know this is a week late for a lot of people, but the Eastern Orthodox Easter Bunny (aka the Greek Easter Bunny in our house) is hopping around this weekend for a lot of us. I’ve mentioned about a zillion times before that I’m from a mixed heritage family, lovingly described as half painfully Canadian and half hardcore Greek. I love this family makeup and as I’ve married into a painfully Canadian family (a painfully Canadian family that I adore) I choose to be the hardcore Greek half, even though I’m hardly Greek enough for the role. It just means I’m a stern mama (most of the time), I insist on celebrating both Easters, both Christmases and the occasional name day – oh and I totally support the desire for two kitchens or at the very least two fridges. If you know any Greeks, that’ll make sense to you. If you don’t, too bad. 🙂

So anyhoo, Easter baskets for Eastern Orthodox Easter! Cheesecake isn’t an often requested treat in our house, but these things were way cute. They would be even cuter with Easter cupcake liners which are officially on my list of things to do next year. Maybe I wont be moving across international lines this time next year! Also, these were actually made last year.

Easter Cheesecake Baskets – adapted from Kraft

2 8 ounce pkgs cream cheese, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/2 cups crushed graham crackers
1/3 cup butter, melted
1 1/2 cups flaked coconut, tinted green
36 small jelly beans
12 pieces shoestring licorice, 4″ lengths

Preheat your oven to 350F and beat the cream cheese and the sugar. Add the egg and beat until blended.
Mix the graham cracker crumbs and melted butter, then press into individual muffin cups.
Now pour the actual cheesecake batter over top of the crust.
Bake for about 20 minutes, then cool and pop in the fridge for at least 2 hours. The green coconut is for festive grass but my kids hate coconut so it’s a waste. However, they love mini eggs and jellybeans so I added those to the ‘baskets’ and then the licorice handles! Way cute!

I wish I could remember which random ‘special interest publication’ this recipe came from. You know at Christmas you see Better Homes and Gardens and Good Housekeeping and even Martha and Pillsbury have a ‘special’ cookie magazine? It doesn’t come as part of a subscription, it has like 300 pages and is more than double the price of a regular magazine? This is from one of those from at least 5 years ago. Last year I went through my Hoarders-esque stack of closet of magazines and ripped out the pages I was holding on to them for. I put them in page protectors in a painfully organized binder. This post is proof that I actually bake some of those recipes too! So anyhoo, while that’s nice and tidy of me, there is no trace of what magazine I pulled it from. Whoops.

The recipe itself is too good for me to make on a regular basis, or at least to make without already deciding who I am gifting them too. They. Are. So. Good. They have a s’more taste to them with the graham crackers + marshmallow + chocolate, but I think the weird oaty base (and splattered on top as well) is what pulls it all together and really won me over. I first made them as part of our cookie tin the year I bought the magazine, and I’ve made them every year since for random Christmas treats but in the last year or two I’ve been making them whenever the mood strikes.

Must try! Make for a crowd!

Ooey, Gooey, Chewy S’more Bars

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup flour
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
2 1/2 cups mini marshmallows
1 1/4 cups chocolate chips or chunks

Cream the butter, then add the sugar, eggs and vanilla and mix to combine.
Add the flour and mix, then the oats and cracker crumbs.
Line a baking dish (mine was 13 x 9) with parchment paper and press half of the dough into the dish. Bake at 350F for 20 minutes.
Sprinkle the mini marshmallows and the chocolate chips on top, now drop the rest of the dough, in tablespoon sized chunks on top of that and bake again for another 10-15 minutes.

I had been trying my hand at vegan baking for a few month when we made a friend with a pretty severe milk allergy. 2/5 of us are lactose intolerant so we are no really that big on milk anyway, but I have always left dairy in the recipes I use and it never seems to bother us the way a bowl of ice cream might. But even a cup of milk in a batch of muffins was too much for our new friend and I had made fudge for the kids that he had to miss out on.

Thankfully, I found this kick ass recipe on Averie Cooks and it was super simple to make and even more importantly, it’s delicious and free of chemicals and rando garbage store bought fudge is full of!

Vegan Fudge via Averie Cooks

1 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
3 1/2 cups icing sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
2 tablespoons dairy free margarine
1/2 cup coconut milk not light
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Melt the margarine and coconut milk over medium heat until blended. Remove from heat.
In a medium bowl, combine chocolate chips, sugar, and cocoa, then pour the hot melted butter and coconut milk over top.
Mix! Mix! Mix!
Pour into a brownie pan and pop in the fridge for about an hour or two to set up.

This is yet another recipe from the culinary school cook book I borrowed from my neighbor. 2011 was The Year of the Cookie and I’m still posting cookies I made. Let’s also ignore that 2012 is officially The Year of Soup and I’ve yet to show you any of the soups I’ve made thus far. Ahem.

Much like the other recipes I’ve tried in this book, I felt like a more accomplished domestic goddess as I baked these cookies. There is just something about this book that makes me feel fancy. Julia Child fancy, almost. Almost. I put on my sassy cherry apron while making them to balance out the fancy with ridic to keep the grown-upness in my kitchen to a healthy minimum.

These cookies are so smooth and buttery, as Julia would say ‘it stops your heart just to look at them’.

Sables Diamant Vanille via The Cook’s Book

1 cup unsalted butter, room temp, cut in pieces
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 1/2 cups pastry flour
sanding sugar or sugar crystals

Place pieces of butter in your food processor and process until creamy.
Then add the sugar, vanilla and salt and process to blend it together.
Finally, add the flour and process to a smooth dough.
Shape it into a ball and divide that in three. Roll each ball of dough into a 2″ wide log. You may need to pop the dough in the fridge if it gets too soft (nobody likes it when the log goes soft on you). Ahem. Slice cookies from log.
Lay cookies on a parchment paper lined cookie sheet and sprinkle with sanding sugar. Bake at 350F for about 20-25 minutes.
Voila! Look at you all fancy and French and shit. Go watch Marie Antoinette and eat them with wine.